`Malice' A Satisfying Thriller With Explosive Performances

Film Review

October 01, 1993|By MALCOLM JOHNSON; Courant Film Critic

At the start of "Malice," the camera trails a small, pretty college student as she bicycles through the dank New England streets and enters her somber house. The title, and the fatal mood of the opening sequence, suggest that the poor thing will not be long for this world, or for this picture. And sure enough, the unfortunate coed is yanked savagely off her feet by an unseen assailant hiding in the darkened living room of her house.

This new film from director Harold Becker ("Sea of Love") and writer Aaron Sorkin ("A Few Good Men") commences with one story, as a killer stalks female students at the fictional Westerly College (in Massachusetts, not Rhode Island).

But this is not to be yet another grim tale of a pervert's murderous pursuit of young women. The precise nature of "Malice" is difficult to explain without revealing the twists of this satisfying film noir/thriller in the tradition of "Double Indemnity."

But from the start, this film turns on the odd friendship between two men who attended the same high school years earlier, with the wife of the younger of the two as the woman in the middle.

Alec Baldwin, cast as a supremely arrogant surgeon who manages to save the life of the girl attacked at the film's start, gives the first hint of the meaning of the title "Malice." Personable even in his egoism, articulate and seductive, Baldwin's cocky Dr. Jed Hill first attracts the admiration of a milquetoast college dean, Andy Safian, to set the plot in motion.

At the outset, Andy seems to be another good-hearted loser role for Bill Pullman, somewhat similar to the dull but charismatic fiance he played so appealingly in "Sleepless in Seattle." But in Becker's new film, none of the major characters is what he or she at first seems.

As the convoluted but well-plotted story unwinds, both Dr. Jed Hill and Andy Safian surprise us, Andy more than Jed. As acted by Baldwin in one of his most watchable and complex characterizations, the gifted surgeon becomes more than the hotshot ex-jock he seems

to be, showing that even a scoundrel can have honor. Pullman's performance has more build, as Andy discovers an inner fire and toughness, which brings one of the film's climactic encounters an edgy excitement.

Yet the most surprises come from Nicole Kidman as Andy's young, apparently sweet and girlish wife, Tracy. Partway through "Malice," Tracy angrily attacks the doctor and leaves her husband. She then becomes a mystery woman whose true personality is unlocked as the story coils and darkens.

As devised by Sorkin and Jonas McCord and turned into a screenplay by Sorkin and Scott Frank (with a polish by William Goldman), "Malice" at first implicates both Jed and Andy as suspects in the attacks on coeds. But that case is solved, and the film now turns on a malpractice suit against a surgeon with a "god complex."

George C. Scott turns up briefly but effectively as a witness for the doctor's defense -- though the case never goes to trial -- and Peter Gallagher comes on smart and tough, but not tough enough, as the lawyer for the injured party. Josef Sommer has a few effective moments as the doctor's counsel. And later Anne Bancroft arrives for one striking, flamboyant scene as an old boozer who reveals secrets about Tracy's past.

Bebe Neuwirth moves in and out of the plot as a wised-up, bitter, lonely Westerly police detective.

But "Malice" belongs to its trio of leads -- all giving terrific performances, with Kidman's transitions creating an especially memorable screen portrait.

But then Sorkin's sharp, smart dialogue gives them a lot to work with, in the Billy Wilder tradition. And Becker draws performances from his leads that are now finely shaded, now explosive.

Working with the fine Gordon Willis as his director of photography, the director sets out a highly persuasive portrait of New England's hamlets, seaside retreats and cities. Becker again proves a master of mood, and Jerry Goldsmith gives him a score that works as eerily as the old scratchy pop tune in "Sea of Love."

Rated R, this film contains nasty talk, sexy moments with flashes of nudity, brutal killings and one unnerving shot of a corpse.

Film review

MALICE, directed by Harold Becker; screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and Scott Frank, based on a story by Sorkin and Jonas McCord; director of photography, Gordon Willis; music composed by Jerry Goldsmith; production designer, Philip Harrison; edited by David Bretherton; produced by Rachel Pfeffer, Charles Mulvehill and Becker; executive producers, Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert. A Columbia Pictures release of a Castle Rock Entertainment Production, in association with New Line Cinema, opening today at Showcase Cinemas, East Hartford and Berlin. Running time: 107 minutes.